


Coffee for Two

by Ryu_Reikai_Akuma



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2685368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryu_Reikai_Akuma/pseuds/Ryu_Reikai_Akuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thorin didn’t think of the unknown young man constantly. He definitely wasn’t attracted to him. He absolutely didn’t regret not being a proper potential romantic interest for him. He’s fine. He’s totally fine being alone. Really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee for Two

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Bitter
> 
> I’ve only been to a coffee shop once in my life so… yeah. Lots of guess works here.

The first time Thorin saw him, it was supposed to be a regular day. He had gone to his the usual coffee shop ordered the usual black coffee, sat on his usual seat, and continued working while he sipped on his drink as he had done millions of times before. But that day, there’s something different. That day, loud laughter from a group of people sitting near his table distracted him. That day, when he looked up from his laptop screen he caught the eyes of a young man among the loud group. Thorin expected him to look away immediately as any good citizen of an impossibly dense and busy city would, but instead received a smile. Dark eyes sparkled with friendliness and more than a hint of interest and Thorin blinked in surprise before lowering his eyes back to the screen in front of him. Tried as he might, he couldn’t help but steal a glace a couple more times. The bright smiles he received almost tempted Thorin to return them but the loud voices of the stranger’s friends made him scowl instead. If he wanted noise, he would have lunch with Dwalin. He specifically chose this coffee shop tucked away behind tall buildings so he could continue working while staying alive. Irritated, Thorin closed his laptop, finished his drink, and left the coffee shop. He didn’t look to see whether the young man saw him leave.

That should be the end of it. There was no reason to expect any continuation of it. Yet a few days after the initial meeting Thorin found himself once again looking into the dark eyes of the young man and being on the receiving end of a wide smile. He frowned and considered leaving but that seemed to be an overreaction for a coincidence (or was it a coincidence? Surely it was a coincidence. Why would it be anything more than a coincidence? No one ever orchestrated ‘coincidences’ for Thorin). He kept his eyes on his documents and laptop screen until he had finished his second cup of coffee, determined to not make a fool of himself by getting distracted by a young stranger. When he left, he noticed the youth following him with his eyes intently, his interest clear as day. Thorin blamed the unusual amount of sunlight outside for his slightly flushed complexion.

The, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth times went more or less the same way and by the seventh time when the waiter traded a joke with the young man and asked whether the stranger would have his regular drink, Thorin accepted that this was new part of his habit. He tried not to think of why this change happened at all but it’s hard to ignore it when he could tell that the youth was watching him when he thought he wasn’t looking. Thorin wouldn’t admit it even under torture but he watched the young man at the edge of his vision. He watched when, once served with a large cup of a drink with more sugar and cream than coffee, the stranger pulled out a thick textbook from his bag and read it. Occasionally he fiddled with his mobile phone, grinning at something on the screen and tapping replies quickly.

Thorin took a sip of his drink, remembering where he came from and where he was now. He hadn’t been able to afford higher education and had joined his family business soon after his graduation from high school. He hadn’t had much time to interact with those is age as he was busy rebuilding his family’s fallen company. His friends had been relatives and old loyal employees; his life had been about fixing what had been broken and figuring out what had gone wrong. It hadn’t been easy but now he could live a comfortable and secure, though a little isolated life and, besides, he enjoyed working, the thrill that comes with taking risks to gain success and profit. Focusing on family business wasn’t a decision he regretted. In fact, it wasn’t his decision at all but, well, what’s done is done. Everything went well, after all. Although, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he would’ve been more like the stranger had he not dedicated his life to work. Would he have been more carefree? Would he have more friends? Would he have found himself in a completely different place in his exploration of his potentials? Would he have been someone who could get along with the young man instead of a grouchy man only a handful people could stand? Well, no point in asking that. Thorin was just glad the stranger, whoever he was, had the opportunity he hadn’t had and seemed to use said opportunity well. Strange as it was, Thorin found himself warming up to the unknown youth. This time, when he left he nodded to the young man. Thorin was rather pleased with himself when it made him drop a piece of sandwich onto his book.

As far as changes go, this wasn’t a bad one. The coffee shop was usually quiet and with the young stranger around the silence was a companionable one instead of dead air. The young man was always the first to arrive, looking at Thorin expectantly when he passed him a few minutes later.  They sat a couple of tables apart where whenever they looked up they could see each other. When their eyes met, the stranger grinned and Thorin looked back to his laptop screen. The youth was mostly quiet, absorbed in his studies or his mobile phone. The only times Thorin heard him speak was when the waiter came to make sure he had everything he needed. When Thorin left he gave the youth a small nod and received a smile in return. Thorin would rather not think of how he now left his office the second lunch break started and didn’t return until the last seconds of it. He _absolutely_ refused to think of how he now spent extra minutes trimming his beard and making sure his suit was immaculate and if Dori complimented his new found sense of fashion and his choices of new outfits, Thorin would fire him.

The day Thorin was the first to arrive, he was a little worried. He set his work in front of him but couldn’t concentrate. He frowned at the heavy rain outside, wondering where the youth might be. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since the time Thorin usually arrived and there was no sign of him yet and the irregular situation bothered him. Sure, the rain was quite heavy but that’s what umbrellas are for. And taxis. And friends who owned cars. And, really, feet, if one was feeling adventurous and not mind extra load of laundry.

Thorin was suddenly aware of his wet shoes and rather cold outfits, how he had automatically grabbed an umbrella when he saw that it was raining, how he had ignored Balin’s suggestion to have lunch in the office. All of a sudden he felt foolish for bracing the rain just for a cup of coffee and simple lunch. It wasn’t like he couldn’t make his own coffee at the office and order lunch to be delivered there. Also, working was definitely easier there instead of in the coffee shop with its small tables. He wasn’t that young anymore, either. The increasing number of grey hair on his head and lines on his face cheerfully reminded him of that every morning. What if he got sick? The company couldn’t run itself. All right, so Balin probably could run it without him but Thorin always preferred hands-on approach to what he had helped rebuild. Really, he had no reason to be here at all.

The sound of the shop’s door opening drew Thorin’s attention. The now-familiar young man ran inside, his clothes and bag wet. He laughed breathlessly when the waiter chided him for coming in such weather. He looked around him and smiled in relief when he saw Thorin. As the young man approached his usual seat (still dripping wet, Thorin noted in a daze, admiring how the young man’s wet t-shirt clung to his body and his long dark hair framed his face and… What? It’s just an observation!) Thorin tensed up as if caught red-handed losing his way to a destination because he refused to obey a disembodied voice from a bloody GPS.

“Terrible weather, isn’t it?”

It took Thorin a moment to realize the young man was talking to him. He never talked to Thorin and Thorin never talked to him. They had an unspoken rule to not speak to each other. Sure, they glanced at each other every now and then and the young man smiled at Thorin more than what was proper and Thorin might have walked too close to him sometimes just to see how he’d react, but they did _not_ speak.

“It is,” Thorin said.

The young man stared at Thorin, his eyes asking something Thorin wasn’t sure he should give. He had been foolish enough today. He had been very foolish for the past few weeks. Thorin looked back to his work and pointedly ignored the stranger for the remainder of his stay. Once he had finished his coffee, Thorin left the coffee shop. He didn’t nod at the young man this time, didn’t even acknowledge that he was there. He braved the rain once more. He couldn’t let himself be more of a fool.

Thorin didn’t come to the coffee shop for the next few days. No, it’s not because of the stranger and definitely not because Thorin was overcome by guilt whenever he thought of how the youth might have reacted to his aloofness. Thorin caught a cold courtesy of the rain and the overtime he volunteered to do to get the day’s event out of his mind. Under the influence of medicine, he could ignore the question of how and why he was so affected by the young man (whom he _definitely_ didn’t dream of stalking toward him with a mischievous smile, looking like he just won an international wet t-shirt contest). He filled himself with warm food and wrapped himself tightly in thick blanket while making a point of not thinking of his loneliness during the day when he was trapped in his room by viruses.

However, once Thorin returned to work he couldn’t avoid it much longer. He had stayed in his office during lunch on the first day of back to his office but the coffee he made to accompany him tasted wrong and Balin joining him to inform him of everything he had missed during his sick leave made his head pound. The next day, he returned to the coffee shop, firmly telling himself that he needed the peace it offered and missed the perfectly-made coffee.

The youth seemed surprised to see him. Thorin noted that he nearly stood up to welcome him but held back. Suddenly feeling warm, Thorin cleared his throat and made his way to his table. He carefully controlled his expression, not wanting to give away how affected he was.

“You don’t look well,” the young man said when Thorin passed him.

Thorin stopped and turned to him. The youth looked genuinely concerned for Thorin’s health, catching Thorin off guard. He thought he looked his usual self. No one had commented at work-not even his old friends, Balin and Dwalin. Yet, this stranger Thorin had only spoken with once in a conversation which lasted exactly two sentences (not that Thorin had been recalling that moment dozens of times when he was sick. And if he had, it had been the medicine messing with his head) saw something wasn’t right.

“I’ve been sick,” Thorin said.

“Was it the rain? You didn’t come the day after that. How are you feeling now?” The youth asked, looking even more worried.

Thorin was more worried of his dignity than his health at the moment. With the way the young man looked at him in worry and the implication that he had expected Thorin to come the past few days, Thorin felt a little flustered. He reminded himself that he had been sick after being out for a few minutes during rain while the young man who had been caught without an umbrella in said rain had been completely all right. Thorin was well past his prime and should certainly not lose his composure because a handsome young man gave him a little attention. He was just being friendly because why else would anyone cared for Thorin. No one ever cared for someone whose life was completely devoted to the past glory of his family, who barely able to interact with someone without offending him in some way. Thorin had learnt that lesson well in the past couple of decades. If this young man really felt any kind of interest to him, it’s surely just a fleeting fancy as young people are wont to have.

“It’s the rain and I’m well now, thank you,” Thorin confirmed. He hesitated for a moment before going to his seat. However, despite his best attempt to resume his routine of working while drinking his coffee, he couldn’t ignore the looks the young man sent him. It’s just a minor interest, nothing to be overly concerned or excited about. Still, Thorin stopped every few words, thinking of the brief exchange and everything which might have happened during his absence. Ignorance wouldn’t work, he realized with some shame. Not when the young man was nearby, giving Thorin worried looks. Not when every weekday he was faced with that smile and sparkling brown eyes. Not when, whether he liked to admit it or not, he enjoyed and wanted the attention.

The young man looked up when Thorin stood up to leave. He seemed to want to say something, his eyes clearly expressing his worry, but he held back. Thorin carefully maintained his composure, not giving anything away. When he passed the young man’s table, he stopped and watched worry and nervousness on the youth’s face.

“See you tomorrow,” Thorin said with a nod. For a moment he worried he had made a mistake and embarrassed himself but then the young man’s face lit up and he nodded vigorously. Thorin didn’t realize he smiled back but he must have done so and the smile must have stayed for a while because Dwalin commented on it when he returned. Thorin happily gave him a friendly punch to the gut and then resumed his work to the music of Dwalin’s pained groans and Balin’s sighs.

It’s kind of funny how three simple words changed things. The days of silence were gone. Now, when Thorin came to the coffee shop, the young man greeted him with a huge grin and small talks about the weather, the traffic, and trivial things Thorin wouldn’t have paid attention to if not for him. Thorin never stayed long at the youth’s table nor had he ever been invited to join him. However, now when their eyes met, Thorin offered a small smile (he tried not to think of how the young man’s face brightened whenever Thorin smiled. He certainly didn’t find himself pausing his work every now and then in his office, remembering the way those eyes shone with happiness and those lips curved with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He was a grown man. He did _not_ get distracted by strangers, no matter how gorgeous they were. He was just being friendly. He was just enjoying the attention while it lasted). When he left, he left with a promise of another meeting the next day. It was a promise he endeavored to fulfill, something to look forward to every weekday.

Something must have changed in Thorin because Dwalin started to roll his eyes whenever Thorin left his office for his lunch break and Balin stopped talking about the negative effects of caffeine and Thorin’s obsession with his job. A couple of months ago Thorin would’ve confronted them and vehemently denied any change, but now Thorin paid them no attention. He still did his job well. The company was still running; they kept their whimsical investor, Gandalf, happy; their security system didn’t break down and lock everybody out of the office again; and nobody got in trouble with their moody security guard, Smaug. A little indulgence shouldn’t be a problem.

Indulgence, however, meant spending an hour in a quiet coffee shop sitting a couple of tables apart from a handsome stranger who smiled at Thorin like he hung the moon and charmed Thorin with enthusiastic talks about just about everything under the (elusive) sun. There was nothing indulging about finding said young man sitting together with another man.

For a moment Thorin was overcome by anger (how dare he brought another person during _their_ time!) but then Thorin remembered who he was and what they weren’t. He swallowed his anger with some difficulty and, stiffly, he went to his table. He was very much aware of how the youth only glanced up to him and didn’t greet him or smile at him. Suddenly the prospect of spending an hour in the coffee shop didn’t seem so great. However, it was too late to leave. Thorin would just draw attention and questions and frankly he wasn’t in the mood to not snap at people.

Thorin forcefully directed his attention to work. He was still, however, keenly aware of the whispered conversation a couple of tables away, the words too soft to be understood. Curiosity gnawed at him worse than Oin’s selective deafness irritated him. Eventually, Thorin gave in. Using the pretense of enjoying his coffee, he studied the new and very much unwanted patron.

The unknown young man was quite good-looking, Thorin noticed enviously. His glossy blond hair and perpetually smiling face reflected his sunny disposition. He was everything Thorin often wished to be, everything he couldn’t be no matter how hard he tried, everything the dark-haired stranger deserved to have in a companion. But it’s not like his moroseness was something Thorin could help. He didn’t think either of the young men had experienced having everything at one moment and next to nothing at the next. They didn’t have to spend their adolescent years wondering how things could’ve been different and then trying to resurrect the past, his family’s dreams. With that kind of past, it’s impossible to maintain a view of the world as a pool of hopes, possibilities, and joy. He was constantly reminded of how difficult things could be, how cruel life could be. Thorin was too old and too world-weary to be a proper companion for the brunet. The blond was a better person however painful it was for Thorin to admit.

Lost in thoughts, Thorin didn’t realize he was staring. He was rather startled when the blond met his eyes. Before Thorin could react by returning to his work, the blond young man scooted closer to the scowling youth and threw an arm over his shoulders to pull him close. Without taking his eyes off Thorin, he leaned close to whisper something to the brunet’s ear and Thorin had had enough. He had been a fool, staying here when it was clear that he was unwanted, that he was just a side entertainment who's now discarded. He left the coffee shop as soon as he could, pointedly ignoring the two young customers.

For the next couple of weeks, Thorin refrained from going to the coffee shop. He threw himself to his work, taking more risks and doubling his efforts to bring his family business to its former success. It was his life, he reminded himself. This was what he prepared to do, what he grew up to be. He wasn’t supposed to be distracted by a stranger who was probably now in the arms of a better man Thorin often wished to be. Not that Thorin thought of that very often. He certainly focused himself on his responsibilities as a respectable adult should. He definitely didn’t unleash his frustration on his coworkers and himself by assigning more work than a human being could take without collapsing from stress and/or exhaustion. He absolutely had his emotions under control. At least that’s what he kept telling himself until one day Dwalin stomped into his office.

“Whatever it is that kept you going out during lunch, go back to it.”

Thorin scowled at his old friend. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” Dwalin growled, glaring at Thorin. “Now go before you lead the rest of us to early deaths.”

“I do not…”

“Thorin, you were happy and now you’re not and you’re taking it out on us. Bilbo is on the verge of tears and I’m pretty sure Smaug and Nori are planning mutiny. Whatever it was that you were so happy about, we need you to get it back.”

Dwalin apparently considered that was the end of the discussion because he then left Thorin’s office, closing the door loudly behind him. Thorin thought of coming after him to deny the accusation but the evidence of Dwalin’s case against him, the documents sitting on his table and the many appointments he scribbled on his desk calendar, told him that Dwalin hadn’t been exaggerating. Thorin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He could go back to the coffee shop, he supposed. The coffee was excellent and it’s a nice quiet place where he could continue working while having lunch. But could he handle seeing the young man again? Could he ignore the knowledge that he was a mere _toy_ to pass the youth’s time? But maybe he had thought of himself too highly. What if the young man no longer came to the coffee shop? He obviously had choices better than Thorin. He obviously _had_ chosen someone other than Thorin. Thorin couldn’t see why he would waste time going to the coffee shop much longer.

In a rather foul mood, Thorin left his office for lunch although he made sure to go at a later time, not wanting to please Dwalin by proving that Thorin had submitted to his demand. When Thorin entered the coffee shop, his head was filled with tens of possible scenarios of ends and beginnings Bilbo could probably write a trilogy about. However, when he found the young man at his usual seat, all of his thoughts stopped. Thorin couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or angry. Did this mean they would continue their routine despite whatever the nature of said routine was? But how exactly were they supposed to return to that routine after the young man brought his boyfriend there? Was Thorin supposed to forget everything that happened that day? Or was he supposed to forget the special attention he had received before?

“Alone today?” Thorin asked when he passed the young man’s table, his voice far icier than he intended. This was why he wasn’t a popular choice for a friend or a lover, he chided himself.

The youth looked up, startled by his presence, but Thorin wasn’t in the mood for mercy and narrowed his eyes. “Am I not always?” He asked in confusion.

“You had a company a while back.”

The young man frowned. “I did?” He wondered to himself before his face brightened. “Oh, Fili! Yeah, yeah! Well, he’s busy,” he said, looking at Thorin expectantly as if happy that Thorin had paid attention to him.

Thorin gritted his teeth. How could he speak of another man while giving Thorin that look? “Wouldn’t you rather be with him?”

The youth laughed and Thorin was annoyed at how it pleased something small in him to be the cause of that laughter. “God, no. I see him plenty at home.”

Oh, they lived together. How wonderful. It made Thorin want to head butt Dwalin.

“Won’t he be angry that you’re here?” Thorin asked. When the young man only looked confused, Thorin lost his patience. “If you think you can get away with toying with me, you’re sorely mistaken,” he growled.

“What? I’m not toying with you!” The youth denied vehemently.

“What do you mean to do, then? You come here all the time, stare at me when you think I’m not looking, smile at me like I’m more than a stranger, and talk to me like you care about me, when in fact you have a boyfriend!” Thorin said accusingly, barely able to keep the volume of his voice down.

Clearly, the youth had no interest in keeping this private because he exclaimed, “I don’t have a boyfriend!”

Thorin scoffed. “You just admitted to living with one.”

“I’m not living with a boyfriend! I’m living with my brother!”

For a moment, they stared at each other. It took a moment for Thorin to understand the situation and when he did, he felt his face burning. “I thought he was…” he said quietly, relief flooding into him. Well, relief and shame because, damn it, so much for not making a fool of himself publicly. He hoped the waiter had a good time laughing in the corner.

Thorin looked at the stranger who had a mixture of amusement and hopefulness on his face (which would be the end of Thorin. He just knew this. He’s going to die and the cause of his death would be inability to say no to those eyes and Thorin still wouldn’t care). He took a calming breath and rearranged his thoughts. There were so many things he wanted to do, so many things he wanted to say. But first thing first. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Of course not!” The young man said enthusiastically.

Thorin sat down in front of the beaming stranger who really shouldn’t be a stranger anymore. “It’s a little late but I’m Thorin.”

“Kili,” the former stranger replied enthusiastically and really Thorin should’ve done this weeks ago so he could see that face lit up in what could be the widest and most beautiful smile Thorin had ever seen and... Yes, Kili is going to be the cause of Thorin’s slow death and Thorin was going to enjoy every millisecond of it. “But speaking of late, isn’t it almost time for you to return to your work?” Kili asked hesitantly, looking at the time on the screen of his mobile phone.

“No,” Thorin surprised himself by answering. “We’ve delayed this long enough.”

Yes, it’s reckless, it’s not proper for someone Thorin’s age, it’s really quite a bit irresponsible, his father and grandfather probably rolled over in their graves if they knew he skipped a day of work for a date, and he did get an earful from everyone he couldn’t fire later, but Thorin didn’t regret it. Cups after cups of coffee were served until Thorin was sure they wouldn’t be able to sleep for at least a month after this. It’s worth it, though, because he learnt what college Kili went to, what courses he took, who his friends and family were, what he loved to do between classes and hanging out with his brother, how Fili had insisted to see the cause of his sudden love for coffee and how Kili had switched Fili’s soap with apple sauce after seeing how upset Thorin was, what he planned to do after college, and Kili’s timid idea of how Thorin could fit into all of this. Later that evening, Thorin pushed Kili against the wall of a darkened alley and he forgot about little things like responsibilities and consequences because...

“You taste like coffee,” Kili laughed after they broke the kiss which was far too hot and heavy to be a first kiss, his lips puffy and inviting, his eyes glazed but held no doubt, his fingers messing Thorin’s hair, and his free hand holding Thorin close as if he’d never let go.

Thorin kissed him quiet and pulled him closer. This was a mistake he should’ve made sooner.


End file.
